Learning Log No. 3

For the previous lesson, we had to device a lesson plan based on one of Mc Loughlin’s approaches. I decided to choose the ‘Great Works’ Approach. Below is my plan for the lesson that should take only one hour;

9am: Introduce the lesson for the day. Ask students which category inspires them the most. For example: art, literature, theatre, architecture, travel, food, etc.

9:10am: Split the class in groups according to the categories.

9:15am: Ask the groups to have a discussion with each other, explaining who their influences are and what favourite pieces/work they have made.

9:25am: Inform the class that they now have to sketch or replicate a work similar to their influences and transform that in to a writing piece. (This is to challenge the students’ creativity and to get them out of their comfort zone)

9:45am: The writing exercise should be done after 20 minutes. Now in each group, students will have to exchange their pieces with each other. The students must pick out 2 or 3 styles that the writer has. This is so that the writer can get an outsider’s point of view of what his/her style is.

9:55am/10am: Lesson finished.

The reason why I have chosen the ‘Great Works’ Approach is because it is based on inspiration. I myself as a student used to struggle with finding inspiration, especially when writing on the spot for classes. I devised this plan in hopes of searching for new methods and to help students connect their work with their influences.

For our 3^rd seminar, the whole class had to discuss GROUP WORK as a teaching method. We listed out the advantages and disadvantages for a learner as well as for a teacher. I think that GROUP WORK can be helpful for most occasions; it’s just the matter of knowing how to control them during class time. It’s inevitable that students can get off topic, so it’s important for a teacher to carefully strategize how the GROUPS should be split.